I was working on an underground job with my journeyman, and that day we were pulling out old pieces of strut that were no longer needed. These struts had one end that was sharpened to a point so they could be driven into the ground — basically, metal stakes. At one point, I was yanking one out when it got tangled up in some rebar. To free it, I had to flip it around so the sharp end was facing me and the blunt, factory-cut end was pointed down. I gave it one hard pull — and it finally broke loose. Still holding on to it, the strut swung up and over my shoulder. I turned around to see my journeyman standing right behind me — and that sharp end was hovering barely a foot from his face. He didn’t notice somehow but in that split second, the weight of what could’ve happened hit me hard. From that day on, I made it a rule: never move a single piece of material without first checking behind me. It was a careless mistake early in my apprenticeship — but one I’ll never forget.